The Little Merman
by torik
Summary: Genderbent AU. Erika loves the sea. So what if it isn't proper for a princess? She didn't ask to be heir to an entire kingdom. Below the waves, Ari relishes in being an overlooked spare. It just gives him more time to find human treasures. Rated T because I'm paranoid. Currently being rewritten - stay tuned.
1. Chapter 1

Erika took a deep breath, smelling the sea air. Most girls her age couldn't stand ships, or the ocean in general. She agreed with them, skirts were easily tangled in ropes. So on long trips to other kingdoms, she wore pants for most of the journey. Nobody was around for miles, anyway. The sailors refused to make her work on the ship, after all, she was their princess. She spent most of her free time just watching, learning, and listening to the stories the sailors told.

"Princess, King Artem must be in a friendly mood today. We're making good speed," one of the sailors remarked.

"King Artem? You haven't mentioned him before." Erika responded.

Another sailor chimed in. "King Artem? Every good sailor knows about him. He's the ruler of the merpeople!"

Erika couldn't believe it. "Merpeople?"

Just then, her governess, Graciela, came above decks for the first time in weeks. "Merpeople? Erika, pay no attention to this nautical nonsense."

The sailors protested. "But it ain't nonsense, it's the truth! I tell you, down in the depths of the oceans they live!"

Graciela would have none of it, and Erika quickly found herself going to Graciela's cabin on board for more lessons on how to run a kingdom.


	2. Chapter 2

Below the waves, a celebration was about to begin. After all, Ursin had been defeated by Queen Tritonis after an unsuccessful attempt to take the throne of Atlantica. Backstage, the princes were preparing to go onstage to perform in a concert of celebration. Amongst all the commotion backstage, the heir to the throne, Alton, sensed someone was missing. But the constant movement made it hard to tell who it was.

He saw Alan, the second oldest, complaining about the quality of his tambourine, something about the zils not being the exact same size or some other minor detail. Looking around a bit more, he saw the third oldest, Aidan, checking the strings on his violin. The fourth oldest, Aquan, was tapping a beat on the wall. His drums were already onstage. Aquan was visibly uncomfortable at being separated from them, and seemed to be watching Aaron closely. Alton had to smile at that. Aaron, the fifth oldest, (who was currently assembling his clarinet) was always taking Aquan's things, and they almost never returned in good condition. The sixth oldest, Aidan, was playing his guitar in the corner. That's when Alton realized-Ari was missing.

There wasn't even any time to look for him, since Ari could be anywhere. Alton hoped that Ari was heading here, right now. The concert, no, the entire celebration could be ruined if he didn't show up. "Of all the days you could go missing, Ari, it had to be _today_?" he whispered. Alton heard the trumpets announcing his mother's arrival. He swam around to his brothers, telling each to get ready. Ari or no Ari, it was up to him to make sure the concert ran as smoothly as possible.

Queen Tritonis entered the concert hall with great fanfare, riding a chariot pulled by dolphins as her long hair flowed behind her. Using her trident, she lit the elegant chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. Following her, although with less fanfare, was the court composer, Serafina.

The queen turned to her most trusted adviser. "I'm looking forward to this performance, Serafina."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Your sons play the most beautiful music! Especially Ari."

The queen nodded and turned back to her seat. Serafina trusted Ari would be able to pull this off. The boy had been at only one rehearsal in the past month. Luckily, he had a knack for reading music.

The princes got into position, and as Serafina took out her sheet music to begin to conduct them, counting them, which was a habit. One, two, three, four, five, six, sev-. Oh, Neptune, six! Ari's piano was without its player. Serafina glanced toward Alton, who shook his head. Someone had to get that boy's head out of the clouds and back into the water. She began anyway. Waiting any longer would make it obvious something was wrong. She could only hope Ari would remember and arrive in time.

The six princes played beautifully, and Serafina's panic rose as each took their solo to showcase their particular instrument. Finally, it was the seventh solo, and nothing. Aidan played his part again, leading into the seventh solo, and nothing.

Serafina could only manage to glance towards the queen before she heard the outburst.

Trident in her hand and glowing, the queen yelled, "Where is Ari?"

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Also, zils are the little metal things on a tambourine. Next chapter should come faster, since I know the plot better. Reviews are encouraged.<strong>


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